Seattle Storm co-owner suspended after cussing out girls supporting women’s sports 

Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton has been suspended for five games and fined after she cussed out two girls who supported Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, a vocal advocate for keeping men out of women’s sports. 

The WNBA announced that Keaton was banned from the Storm’s next five home games and given an undisclosed fine following the incident, which took place during the Storm’s 105-95 loss to the Fever Tuesday.

In a video posted by independent journalist Brandi Kruse for her Undivided podcast, two girls wearing XX-XY T-shirts said an “older lady” approached them and harassed them, leaving one of them in tears.

“I’ve never been yelled at like that before,” one of the girls said in the video. 

Kruse and the girls joined fans outside the arena to voice support for Cunningham, a University of Missouri graduate and Missouri native, who has spoken up about protecting women’s sports and spaces.

“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans,” Cunningham said in a July 21 interview. “And I’m like, ‘I never once said that.’ I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

Two separate groups of girls that held signs thanking Cunningham also faced backlash from Storm fans, players and team leadership. Another video shows a mother trying to keep her daughter away from an agitated man who profanely told the girls to leave the arena.

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, praised the girls’ actions. 

“These young women are heroines,” Rowling posted on X. “They’re peacefully protesting against the grotesque unfairness of men playing in women’s sport. The only people who are ‘f*cking insane’ here are those making a mockery of fair sport for women and trying to bully girls like this into silence.”

The Seattle Storm has a “No Space for Hate” policy that outlines standards of conduct for fans attending games. The team later issued a statement apologizing to the girls.

“We are aware one of our co-owners made comments to two fans in attendance at last night’s game,” the statement said. “We apologize that this happened. Everyone who attends a Storm game deserves to feel welcome, and we remain committed to creating an inclusive environment where every fan is treated with respect.”

Keaton has not publicly apologized for her actions.

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/unDivided with Brandi Kruse)